iBeacon technology first for European Zoo

15 MAY 2015, AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

Summary

Italy’s ZOOM Torino Biopark has released a visitor mobile app to offer a full edutainment experience. Developed by LabWerk, the app utilizes iBeacon technology to unlock additional content based on a visitor’s location, offer an interactive map, and allow visitors to earn coupons and rewards during their visit.

From May 2015 visitors to ZOOM Torino Biopark in Cumiana, Italy will be able to experience the park in a whole new way using their smartphone – a first for Italy.

The 160.000 square meter park now offers a full edutainment experience with ZOOM Torino’s new iBeacon enabled mobile application.

As visitors discover the six different habitat environments of the park, they will be able to unlock specific details, facts and suggestions throughout their journey thanks to the hidden Bluetooth transmitting beacons, which trigger relevant content on a visitors smartphone based on their location.

Floris Boekel, CEO of the app’s development company and iBeacon innovators, LabWerk, said he’s excited about the implementation of iBeacons at ZOOM Torino. Not only is this iBeacon technology implementation a first for the European zoo industry, it is also the app development company’s first entrance into both the Italian and biopark markets. This project had been completed in conjunction with LabWerk's Italian partner Lab239.

“It’s always nice to enter a new market after having numerous successful implementations of mApp, our iBeacon solution, in France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Norway. This, coupled with demonstrating yet another use case for iBeacons reflects the promising future we see for this technology.”

The app features an interactive map to help visitors navigate through the park by pinpointing their current location and showing the location of key attractions and facilities. Users will also benefit from alerts on their mobile device informing them of special events during their visit like meeting animals or presentations.

By engaging with the app, visiting certain locations within the park, and answering quiz questions, visitors can also earn promotional items and discount coupons for use within the park.

The ZOOM Torino is free to download and available now from the Apple App Store.

Relevant links

Quotes

"It’s always nice to enter a new market after having numerous successful implementations of mApp, our iBeacon solution, in France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Norway. This, coupled with demonstrating yet another use case for iBeacons reflects the promising future we see for this technology."
Floris Boekel, CEO LabWerk

"We are excited about the implementation of iBeacons at ZOOM Torino. Not only is this iBeacon technology implementation a first for the Italian zoo industry, it is also our first entrance into both the Italian and biopark markets."
Floris Boekel, CEO LabWerk